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Welcome to Close Call Sports. CCS objectively tracks and analyzes close and controversial calls in sport, with great regard for the rules and spirit of the game. Developed from The Left Field Corner: MLB Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (UEFL), whose purpose is to objectively track and analyze umpire ejections, video instant replay reviews and their corresponding calls, with great regard for the rules and spirit of the game.

News of the elder Welke's (brother Bill #52 remains on the staff and has already worked several games this spring) retirement comes months after he underwent knee replacement surgery in January; Welke is scheduled for a second surgery in June.

Tim Welke retires 33 years after he first began in the American League after officiating a total of 4,216 regular season games, his 4,000th coming on April 13, 2014 in Cincinnati, three All-Star Games, eight Division Series (35 games), seven League Championship Series (41 games), and four World Series (22 games). His assignments took him across the United States and Canada, and to Sydney, Australia for the 2014 Dodgers-Diamondbacks Opening Series.